self-doubt

The creative impulse is almost always accompanied by a small idea of something they could do to get started.

You know the voice all too well.

The first voice

It speaks to all of us at least a few times a week. It sounds something like “I should look into that” or “I probably should search for that on Google for a few minutes and see if anyone’s done that yet” or “That IS a neat idea! I wonder if it would work?” or “I should go to Borders sometime and see what kind of books are out there” or “Yeah, thanks for the connection. Maybe I’ll email your friend and see if they have any information that will help me.” Any of these sound familiar?

The second voice

Before we take the slightest step to see how much a plane ticket will cost or who’s selling a used guitar on EBAY, a second voice kicks in and tells us to wait because there’s some financial stuff, or relationship stuff, or about to get married stuff, or having a baby in 2 weeks stuff, or need a different degree stuff, or my mother in law is bugging me stuff, or gotta get my funds together stuff, or something else that we need before we can be ready or worthy to begin doing the work we’re called to do.

Beware, Be aware

That second voice is out to destroy you. It doesn’t care one bit about you or your happiness. It’s only mission is to prevent you from realizing your true potential by using your love for comfort to deter you away from your higher purpose. It will tell you anything you do or don’t want to hear in order to paralyze you with fear or discouragement.

Don’t listen to it. Don’t even get into a conversation with it. Listen to the first voice. The first voice is the real you. It’s what people refer to when they advise you to follow your bliss or listen to your gut. Do THAT!